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God’s Kingdom that is coming is the Kingdom Reign of His dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. God’s promised kingdom will break upon the world stage with a frightening force, with wrath and destruction all around. Jesus will right all the wrongs. The same One who “delivered Daniel from the power of the lions will come and deliver and rescue and perform signs and wonders in heaven and on earth.” Daniel 7:27

We follow our Lord’s example and pray for and anticipate the soon return of the Son of Man, the son of David to establish the promised and prophesied Kingdom of God. God the Father has given the Kingdom to His dear Son. HIS WILL will be done on the earth as it is in the Heaven of Heavens once His Son returns.

Until then Satan is the ruler of this world and the prince of the power of the air. Until then the servants of the King are tempted and tried and abused and martyred. Until then we serve as the coming King’s Ambassadors preaching “Prepare yourselves for the coming of the Lord!” “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is coming.” “You must be born again to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven (Christ’s Kingdom here on earth).

The Kingdom is not “at hand” as it was when the Son of Man came the first time, BUT it is for sure. Like Paul in Acts 28:30 we should be preaching about the Kingdom of God and teaching concerning the LORD (God) Jesus (Savior) Christ (Coming King).

“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!” Romans 10:13

JESUS said,“And behold, I am coming quickly (suddenly, unexpectedly). Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book!”

“Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with ME, to render to every man according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of DAVID, the bright morning star.”

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Thank you Lord for another year in this life so you can prove me and and improve me.

Thank you Father, Son and Holy Spirit. You are the ONE and only Triune God, Maker of the heaven and earth , salvation of all and sustainer of all. Your eternal life in the Lord Jesus Christ is my comfort and source of my strength.

Lord, today, I confess my failure to resist the world, my flesh and the devil himself. I acknowledge with shame my not believing your Word, which is faithful and true. I acknowledge my failure to depend upon your Holy Spirit, whom you gave me when you saved me. Your Spirit, who is in me, I have grieved and quenched! Forgive me.

Lord Jesus, I have denied your cross where you were crucified and where I was crucified with you! Where the power of sin was broken in me. Where the old man was slain! Yet Lord, I have continually raised him up and put him on! Lord, forgive me!

Lord Jesus, I have trampled your precious blood by the many sins I have willfully committed. Lord, it is by your precious blood that I have been forgiven before God! Lord, forgive me! Lord I confess all of this before you.

Lord, it is by your grace and mercy I have been saved from my sin. You have promised to forgive me when I confess my sin. You have promised to cleanse me from the defilement of my sin and the sin done to me. Thank you for forgiving me. Thank you for cleansing my heart and mind. It is with confidence in your work, Lord Jesus, that I can come into the presence of God with my prayers. I have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus the Christ and freed by His broken body. YOU, Lord Jesus, are my advocate before the Father. You, Lord Jesus, are the Great High Priest. You have made me a fellow priest with You. Thank you.

Lord Jesus, my Great High Priest, I come to you for grace not to sin! and for mercy when I do sin. LORD, it is only by your enabling power that I can be qualified to serve in your priesthood and represent you here on this earth.

Lord, as I draw near to you with a sincere heart, full of faith in your shed blood and broken body, I hold fast my confession that YOU, LORD Jesus, are my hope for eternal glory. By your enabling power I strive toward that upward call, that eternal prize of sharing your glory in your Kingdom here on earth, on that Day, when You return in power and great glory. Lord, I strive to be faithful to you in all things.

May I be a continual encouragement to my fellow brothers and sisters to do the same and be a blessing to them so they too can reach that same goal through love and good works. Lord, I strive to be faithful to your assembly, your Church, your Body here on earth until you come to establish your Kingdom here upon this earth. Lord, help me to remember that your Kingdom is not yet, but it is for sure! It is just as sure as your first coming in humility, so your second coming in great power and glory is sure! I am storing up treasures for the glorious Kingdom yet to come, not a worldly kingdom today. May I be humble now so that I may share your glory then!

My desire is to be glorified together with you to the praise of your glory. I want to hear you say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” But Lord, I can only be good and faithful by your enabling power. I strive to walk by faith in you, that is, in your Word, so that your grace may abound in me and to me, O Lord My God.

Thank you for the gift of eternal life! Thank you for the challenge of the prize of sharing your glory in your coming Kingdom!

Lord Jesus, I consider everything to be worthless in view of the surpassing greatness of knowing you and being counted worthy to partake of your glory in your Kingdom. What GRACE! What Honor! Lord Jesus, thank you!

When you return I want to be standing in your righteousness alone. I do not want to be ashamed in my own righteousness, which is as filthy rags! Today and always, may I know the power of your resurrection life in me. May I learn to suffer against the world, the flesh and the devil and be conformed in my life to your life and death when you suffered against temptation and for my sin while upon the earth, so that I may walk in this new way of life today.

Lord, by faith I press on to lay hold of your eternal glory for your glory! It is your desire to glorify me together with you. This is my desire too. But I need your grace, your power, working in me.

This is my prayer for 2015 and the rest of my life until I see you face to face.
Maranatha! Come soon Lord Jesus.
Amen

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Yesterday our brother and co-worker Stephen and his family sponsored a Christmas program in Patipalli village. It included the preaching the Gospel and giving some gifts of clothing to poor widows. Pictured is Stephen, his wife Glory and his dad and mom (Ausgustine and Martha).

Thank you for praying for HIMIndia as we work to support indigenous ministry in India. Our primary focus is equipping, encouraging and empowering pastors to “equip” their people to do the work of the ministry (Eph. 4:12). At this time over 500 pastors are being blessed with additional training, training material and bibles.

BUT along with this we are careful to not forget the poor. Galatians 2:10

Stephen spent $400 of his own money (he receives about $500-600 per month from HIMIndia) to bless this church he founded in Patipalli village. HIMIndia also has a training facility there next to the church. Pastors from as far as 50 miles come there for special training, meetings and fellowship.

HIMIndia encourages them by partnering with them in carrying the Gospel to their neighbors who are steeped in a culture of idolatry. As in biblical days the local religious leaders are hostile to a religion that worships ONE God and teaches that He is the ONLY true God. Unlike other religions Christianity persuades by the living Word and living love.

Pray for them. Partner with them. They sacrifice daily. Let us join them in sacrifical living and giving.

We are Christ’s Ambassadors being prepared for His Kingdom and preparing others for His soon coming reign.

Christmas is about JESUS, the Son of God who became the Son of Man so that sons of men could become sons of God!

What an incredible story, HIS Story. The Story that says, “for God so loved the whole world that He gave His one and only Son Jesus to live, die and rise from the dead for all men, so that WHOEVER put their trust in His Son Jesus, would not perish eternally for their sin, but instead have eternal life.”

The picture shows the happy faces of some African brothers who have just led a neighbor to Christ. All believers are Ambassadors for Christ. We are either a good ambassador or a bad ambassador. A good ambassador both Tells the Truth and lives the Truth of the Gospel. But to believe the Gospel a person must “hear” it so they can believe it. Yes, faith comes by hearing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Some one has said “HISTORY is about HIS STORY.” My friend and mentor shared the Gospel Story using the acronym H-I-S-T-O-R-Y. Let me share it with you. Maybe it will help you to share the Story with others and be blessed as our friends in Africa were when a soul was saved from eternal death and received eternal life.

H – God is HOLY and He will judge all mankind according to His standard of holiness by His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus alone has lived a perfect life and was raised from the dead to never die again because He is Holy. God has never done wrong. He is not even tempted to do wrong! John 5:22; Romans 2:5-6; Acts 17:30-31; James 1:13

I – I am a sInner! Because I am a sinner I will face God’s Judgment by His Son. Every one is a sinner because everyone is from Adam’s race. All have sinned IN Adam and all sin because because we have been perfect and we have not kept the moral law of God! Adam’s nature is our nature. NO one will escape the Judgment of God. All have failed to keep God’s perfect standard in two ways. We have done what we should not do (sins of commission, Galatians 5:19-21) and we have not done what we should do (sins of Omission, James 4:17). Romans 3:19, 23; James 2:26; Hebrews 9:27

S – I need to be SAVED from the most severe judgment in the eternal Lake of Fire. There is a price for sin. That price is DEATH. It is a spiritual death. Our spirit/nature is dead because it is Adam’s nature. We were conceived spiritually dead. It is a physical death. All of us are physically dying. There is no escaping physical death. Our bodies are dying because all creation is under the curse of God because of sin. It is an eternal death. This is the worst part! Because I sin personally I will suffer in the Lake of Fire away from the presence of God for ever and ever! This is what the Bible calls the SECOND Death. Physical death is called the first death, when my spirit departs the body which then corrupts and returns to dust. This is my fate if there is no remedy!Matthew 10:28; Revelation 14: 10-11, 20:11-15; Romans 1:18

T - God wants all men to be saved, but unless they know the TRUTH one cannot be saved from the judgment of death. God wants to save me body, soul and spirit but I must know the truth to be saved from spiritual, physical and eternal death. 1 Timothy 2:1-4

O - That truth is “there is ONLY ONE Mediator between God and man. God has appointed Him to represent us in His divine court in heaven. That one mediator who can stand between sinful man and the Holy God is the Eternal God-Man, the Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Timothy 2:5, Philippians 2:5-8

There is a price to pay that is acceptable to God the Father for sin. For the Holy God to be just in saving sinners the price must be paid. (Romans 3:26) The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), and the life of flesh is in the blood. (Leviticus 17:11) Some one must die in our place and shed blood and that blood must be acceptable in the eyes of the Father so that He can forgive us forever.

R - Jesus paid the RANSOM price to redeem mankind from sin. That is He died to set us free from the price of sin. (1 Timothy 2:6; Galatians 3:13; hebrews 9:12; 1 Peter 1:18-20)

Since God wants all men to be saved and has provided a way to save all men, why is it that all men are not saved?

The reason is that as in earthly courts one needs a qualified lawyer, so too in heaven one needs a qualified and acceptable lawyer, or advocate. To get this Heavenly Qualified Lawyer one must ask Him to take your case.

Y – YES must be a sinners response to this proposition from God. That is to be obedient to the Gospel, one must repent of their sinfulness by admitting to being a sinner and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. (Acts 20:21) To believe is to accept that Jesus is God and He lived and died for you so that HE could give you HIS Life eternal.

To say YES is to ask Jesus to take your case and represent you before the Father in Heaven. This is done by “calling on Jesus” to be our savior. By simple faith in the Truth fo the Gospel ask Jesus to save you. He always says YES. (Romans 10:9-13)

The “chiliastic” view of biblical prophecy teaches that Jesus the Christ will literally reign on this earth for 1000 years before He transforms the universe into the New Heaven and New Earth. This doctrine has been much disparaged since the 3rd century, but it has been continually believed from the Apostles to the present day. This literal understanding of Scriptures anticipates the literal return of the Lord Jesus Christ to establish the Kingdom of God promised to the nation of Israel in spite of her failures on this present earth. It is the same grace that ultimately saves believers in Jesus today in spite of our failures. Jesus, the son of David, will rule from David’s throne in Jerusalem and put all his enemies “under his foot.”

Before Jesus returns to claim his throne Israel must be prepared to receive her king. She rejected her Messiah and crucified Him when he came the first time. This rejection postponed the establishment of the Kingdom of God and made way for the time of the Gentiles. A time when ALL people are being invited into God’s elect family by faith in the Lord Jesus. The Master has gone away for an unspecified period of time. In the meantime, his servants (believers) are to be SERVING him by “making disciples” of everyone, everywhere until his return.

His return will begin with a “catching away” of His people before He judges the world and prepares the Nation of Israel to receive him. This “catching away” is what we call the “rapture.” To be a part of this “rapture” you must be “born again.” To be born again you must put your trust in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is God in the flesh, who lived the perfect life you could not live before God. He is also the One who died an acceptable death in your place so that you could have eternal life. He is also the ONE who rose from the dead on the third day proving He died for our sin and not His. He had no sin, so He could effectively die in our place and survive, since death had not claim on Him. He rose from the dead so that all who believe in Him could be made righteous, justified, before God. Those who believe in Jesus will experience the first resurrection which is to Life. Those NOT raised in the first resurrection will be raised in the 2nd resurrection to be finally judged and cast into the eternal Lake of Fire.

Are you ready for the FIRST Resurrection? All who have believed in Jesus before His return to reign as King of kings will experience the “catching away,” the Rapture.

*Erich Sauer describes the rapture this way.

The Rapture is a:A Catching away – a taking out of all distress of soul and body (2 Cor. 5:2, 4; Phil. 3:21), out of all persecution and oppression by the foe, out of the entire sphere of sin (Rom. 6:6) and of death (Rom. 7:24). It is rest with all saints (2 Thes. 1:7) in “the day of the coming redemption” (Eph. 4:30; Rom. 8:23). This is the “redemption of the body.”

This catching away is an act of Divine Grace (1 Peter 1:13) freeing us from all sin. It is an act of Divine mercy, which we are waiting for (Jude 21) and will free us from all misery. It is an act of Divine omnipotence, which transfigures us into conformity with our Redeemer and elevates us to the most glorious spiritual body. (Phil 3:21)

“Rapture” is a strong word meaning to SNATCH or jerk out with force. 1 Thes 4:17; Acts 23:10). It also means to rescue with power as in the word “salvation” in 1 Thes. 1:10. The Greek word used is “rhuo” and is also used in 2 Tim. 4:17 speaking of rescuing Paul from the Lion’s jaws.

Strong military terms are used in reference to this event. The Lord himself will descend from heaven with an “alarm signal,” with a “word of command,” a “battle cry,” with a “trumpet clang” of the “trump of God.” And then, the royal Conqueror, accompanied by the armies of heaven, will unite with Himself forever His earthly warriors! Praise the Lord!

And this is very important because the rapture is:

A Catching Up! A uniting of the members of the Head (1Thes4:16, 17) for the purpose of perfecting His glory as the Redeemer (Eph. 1:23, John 14:2, 3). Thus for the first time the ENTIRE church will be with one another and the LORD not on earth but UP in heaven having been transfigured (1 Cor. 15:51, 52) in a moment in the twinkling of an eye in the air.

A Triumph! The air is the very sphere of operation of the evil one. He is the prince of the power of the air. This is the enemy’s headquarters. But it is in the AIR that the Lord declares His total victory as He gathers His Church in the heart of enemy territory. This is the BLESSED HOPE of the redeemed. Titus 2:13 cp. Isaiah 26:19, 35:10; 51:11.

*“The Triumph of the Crucified, A Survey of the History of Salvation in the New Testament” by Erich Sauer

When indigenous Christians evangelize and disciple their own people marvelous things happen! New Testament things! Churches are planted and disciples are made. When one observes the missionary efforts of Paul we see that he spent very little time in the places where he and his team took the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They laid the foundation planting the church and appointing elders and then moved on to the next strategic location. Church growth came from the local church evangelizing, baptizing the converts into the local church and then teaching them to obey the Word of God. They made disciples! The spread of the Gospel to the interior region came from the indigenous believers.

This is what we see happening in Zambia. In the year 2000 Hope Builders Ministries began working with an indigenous ministry in Zambia. This mission focused on encouraging, enabling and empowering the Zambian church to evangelize their own people and plant new churches and make disciples. Hope Builders Ministries’ part in this was to help them to train their pastors and leaders. HBM continues to do that today.

The way the Lord has done this is by giving HBM the HUB model of disciple making. This model follows Jesus’ example of 1 on 3 disciple making. Implementing this strategy in Zambia has resulted in multiple thousands of new believers and churches in the 15 years that HBM has been partnered with the Zambian Church.

Today there are over 1972 pastors in training with Hope Builders Ministries Zambia, a registered and Zambian led ministry. Each of the pastors participate in a 3 year Bible training program produced by Calvary Academics in South Africa. HBM purchases this material and delivers it to the HBMZ office in Lusaka. The Administrator, Matthew Daka then oversees the distribution of this material to the far corners of Zambia and the men in training with HBMZ.

Regional and district leaders oversee the implementation and quality of the training. The US Zambian Coordinator works closely with the Regional Leaders and HBMZ Administrator to access needs and represent US partners to HBMZ and HBMZ to their US partners.

Today Hope Builders Ministries continues to support this indigenous ministry through the faithful gifts of partners in the USA.